Representative image of a dead body.
Credit: iStock Photo
A Rapid Response Team (RRT) staffer died after suffering severe injuries in an elephant attack during an operation to drive away wild elephants to the forest at Kedakal village near here on Monday.
Girish (35) is the deceased. He was part of the 40-member team deployed to drive away elephants back into the forest.
Though a severely injured Girish was rushed to the district government hospital in Madikeri, he succumbed to the injuries without responding to the treatment. Girish has been working in the RRT for the past several years.
DCF A T Poovaiah and other officials visited the district hospital.
The lone tusker has been creating fear among people in Kedakal D Block, Karekolli and surrounding areas for the last few days and has been damaging crops. Following a complaint by the villagers, an operation was launched to drive back the elephant into the forest.
The elephant also attacked and injured Murugesh, a carpenter and a resident of Suntikoppa when he was on his way to work on Monday morning. His motorbike was also damaged by the pachyderm. On the way, it also chased another person called Mahesh, a resident of Horuru village. He had a narrow escape by running inside the forest, leaving his motorbike behind. The tusker mangled the vehicle and later made its way into Devarakadu forest.